Ashley Chory, MPH, and Dennis Munyoro
The International AIDS Society (IAS) focuses on advancing HIV care and helping those living with or affected by HIV. The 12th biennial IAS Conference on HIV Science presented critical advances in basic, clinical, and operational HIV research that move science into policy and practice. The mission of the conference is centered around supporting polices of stigma reduction and to use evidence based data to inform attitudes, decisions and actions.
Dennis Munyoro is a peer researcher at the MTRH-Rafiki Centre for Excellence in Adolescent Health at AMPATH who was awarded a scholarship opportunity to attend the IAS conference in Brisbane, Australia. His work on engaging children and adolescents living with HIV and serving as a co-author on publications concerning adolescent stigma and ethics made him the perfect candidate to attend this conference. He became a peer navigator in 2016, and in 2021 transitioned to being a peer researcher after he aged out of the program. He discussed his experience at the conference with Ashley Chory, MPH, Global Youth Health Senior Program Manager, and Sakshi Sawarkar, MPH, Associate Researcher.
If you could describe your experience at the IAS conference in one word what would it be and why?
Amazing! Attending the conference opened my mind to new ideas in the field of HIV adolescent care. I was able to understand what the needs of adolescents are in different parts of the world compared to my country (Kenya) and what innovations could work best in my setting. For example, the use of technology to deliver information or linkage to care for people living with HIV.
What did you find to be the conference’s highlight?
The highlight of conference for me was a session titled “How to write a research manuscript: Publish or perish.” Since my interest is more focused on writing and publishing, this session was an eye opener for me as a young person venturing into the research world with the aim of finding solutions to gaps in care and treatment of HIV, especially for adolescents and young adults. Even though as young people we do so much in this area, we do not publish our work or findings.
What was your main takeaway from the conference?
I was very interested in the research aspect of the conference, particularly how to write a good abstract and proposal. This has been a significant help in advancing my career since it has provided me with valuable advice on how to draft strong proposals.
Did you meet other researchers who also work in the field of adolescents living with HIV? If so, could you share any insight into their findings that you found most fascinating? Were there any concepts you could apply into your own research?
Getting the story and telling it right is another area that fascinated me while interacting with the other researchers in the conference. There are a lot of untold stories that could give valuable lessons in terms of success stories or gaps, and if told right it could inform others on how to better implement programs in different dynamics and cultures. There was a concept of embracing and integration of eHealth in the care of HIV. I am more focused on adolescents and young adults, and the introduction and adoption of eHealth and social media platforms would be beneficial to this population since a significant number of them live in the digital world. If they get their information on the internet, it would be the right place to disseminate information to this population.
What was it like connecting with others who are just as passionate about helping adolescents living with HIV?
Attending the conference provided me with a unique opportunity to interact with various young people from different countries and cultures just as passionate as I am in the fight against HIV. Exchanging information with others in this field gave me a good insight on trying out different approaches in delivering care, especially exploring the use of tele-medicine and social media to demystify misconceptions in the community, which will have a great impact in stigma reduction.
Were there any presentations that helped you expand your knowledge about HIV outside of the context of adolescents?
There was a presentation on opportunistic infections being underdiagnosed until it is too late, for instance tuberculosis. The introduction of regular screening in the care unit would change this which will help the client get treatment early enough to contain the infection before it’s too late.
Was there a specific poster, abstract, or study that had a significant impact on you?
Yes, there were a lot of interesting posters in the conference that were intriguing. But the one I found most interesting was a study conducted in the southern part of Africa, where the researchers set up safe-like centers to dispense medications for potentially life-threatening illnesses, such as AIDS. When a client registers, they are notified of the passcode for the safe box their medication is in, and it can be picked up any time. The purpose of adding these medications to this program was to avoid stigmatization in the community. I believe with the right approach in my community, this program would be of value, especially to stable adolescents attending school while living with HIV.
What kind of opportunities did you get from attending this conference?
I had the opportunity to meet with the International Conference on AIDS and Sexually Transmitted Infections in Africa (ICASA) organizers where I was able to secure an online scholarship to attend the conference in Zimbabwe in December 2023. Participating in the conference provided me with an opportunity to network with young people along with various organizations at the conference.
What was your favorite part of your trip outside of the conference?
I really enjoyed my interactions with different organizations in the expo booths. It was refreshing getting to know the different technologies organizations are using to provide better access to HIV management and care. Outside the conference, I enjoyed the environment in Brisbane, the people, food, and culture. The city is one of the best I have ever visited and it was a great experience overall.
Ashley Chory, MPH, is Senior Program Manager, Global Adolescent Health for the Kenya partnership at the Arnhold Institute for Global Health and for the Department of Global Health and Health System Design.
Sakshi Sawarkar, MPH, is an Associate Researcher, Arnhold Institute for Global Health and Department of Global Health and Health System Design